"That's one of the things that saved my life," she told Ebony magazine. "I flew out to see him. That's why I'm still here."

The bodies of her mother and brother were found Oct. 24 2008 at their home on Chicago's South Side. The body of nephew Julian King was found days later on the city's West Side. The estranged husband of Hudson's sister, William Balfour, is charged in the murders.